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A move to the country?

In 2017, 70,000 Londoners bought outside the capital and a record 65,000 tenants left the city – with 78 per cent of them continuing to rent outside of London, according to research from Hamptons International.

With its biannual country roadshows, now in its 12th year, Hamptons is targeting five branches on 10 March, Battersea, Blackheath, Kingston, Fulham and Muswell Hill, “where the final push to the country tends to come from, usually following the train line out such as Blackheath to Tunbridge Wells or Chiswick to Gerrards Cross,” says Joanna Cocking, head of Hamptons International’s prime and country house division.

Education is the big driver, with less pressure for places than the best schools in London. “But another factor is the realisation that a cross-country commute, such as from Beaconsfield to Marylebone, and then a quick walk to the office, can be quicker than getting across town from Fulham to the City,” says Cocking.

It’s a big factor behind the popularity of “the Bucks/Berks sweep”, including perennial favourites such as Marlow and Henley-On-Thames, “because of the effortless commute to Marylebone,” Cocking adds. The Surrey Hills comes a close second favourite, Hamptons finds.

Interest in Kent is on the rise, too, “as it is still well-connected but offers greater value for money,” comments John Fisher, head of country for UK Sotheby’s International Realty.

Typically, the London-to-country move has been a way of cashing in on the city’s superlative house prices to buy something bigger and better further out. But the easing of London price growth is seeing the gap closing – which may make now an ideal moment, before the price difference narrows even further, to swap that Fulham townhouse for a Georgian rectory.

“While the South East is likely to see stronger growth again from 2019, the London market is not expected to return to growth until 2020,” comments Doug Sleaper, head of Savills Northwood. He adds that 30 per cent of his buyers last year – the highest proportion of any of Savills’ regions – came from London, invariably having followed the Metropolitan Line out. Nearby Rickmansworth is another magnet for those leaving the capital.

There is a certain amount of “education” needed for those selling up in London, adds Joanna Cocking. “The market place isn’t giving sellers an easy journey. They’ve had to take money off their price but finding that rural vendors aren’t desperate to reduce by a similar amount. It has taken far longer to sell in London than they imagined. Many are emerging battered and bruised from selling their property,” she comments.

As a result, these rural relocators are taking one or both of the following directions. One, they rent in the countryside – which has led Hamptons to be the first agency to set up a country short lets department. “It’s a chance to trial country living and feel the area. For vendors, it’s an opportunity for an immediate gain – typically our short lets are anything from two weeks to three months – while their house sits on the sales market too,” says Cocking.

Two, they skip the Home Counties step and go straight for the migration to Canford Cliffs or Bath. “They are looking more at lifestyle and not being tied to a commute. They want to sail their boat every weekend,” she adds.

In Hamptons’ bread and butter bracket of £2m-£3m, location and schools will dictate the decision of where to buy. Above that, it’s primarily about the house. “At this end of the market, the client often has a specific equestrian need or a Georgian rectory need. If it means looking in a different county, they will,” says Cocking.

The countryside dream often needs some tweaking, though. “People are hardwired to want the old rectory with acres of land,” says Cocking, “but when I tell them just how much gardeners charge, they happily adjust to having less land.”